“The war on women’s sports is over,” declared President Donald J. Trump at the signing ceremony for Executive Order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” The President continued: “We will not allow men to beat up, injure, and cheat our women and our girls. From now on, women’s sports will be only for: women.” The Executive Order protects female-only sports leagues and teams at publicly-funded schools, colleges, and universities.
With such support at the presidential level, as well as an overall cultural support for our cause, we are making significant progress against transgenderism in general and to defend female sports in particular. But the battle is not yet over because of push back from various states, especially in Washington. We want to update you on a few important developments, and above all, we want to give hope.
Recently, in unfortunate news, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) fell one vote short of banning the transgendered. MyNorthwest.com reports: “Amendments require 60% approval from voting members to pass. It failed by one vote, 31-22. Even if it did pass, it would have been an ‘advisory vote’ only, as the WIAA said it violated state law and wouldn’t be enforced.”
But there is reason to hope.
First, the powerful group Alliance Defending Freedom as taken up the cause:
The Alliance Defending Freedom filed a civil rights complaint Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, alleging that Washington state’s high school athletic policy unlawfully discriminates against female athletes and violates Title IX. The complaint was submitted on behalf of two high school girls’ track athletes—Soleil Hoefer, a senior at Prosser High School, and Kora Lengerich, a freshman at Gonzaga Preparatory School. It claimed that the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) policy permitting male athletes to compete in girls’ sports undermines fair competition and deprives female athletes of equal opportunities.
Given ADF’s strong reputation for legal acumen and cultural prestige, this is a very good sign indeed.
The second reason for hope is this. The US Attorney General has sued the state of Maine for non-compliance and perhaps this lawsuit will impact other states such as Washington, too.
We certainly need it.
If you recall, early in 2025 the story of a 15-year-old sophomore named Frances Staudt in Tumwater, Washington made national headlines. She refused to play basketball against a “trans-women,” i.e., a biological boy. FPIW Executive Director Brian Noble had the opportunity to interview Frances and her mother Aimee. Click here to watch.
Partway through the last game of the season, there was a “very obviously” male athlete on the other team, a 18-year-old from California, who knocked over and injured a female athlete so severely that the game had to be stopped and the girl’s mother had to help her off the court. It was at that point that Staudt became visibly upset and told the transgender athlete, “You are a man,” and walked out of the building.
That statement was categorized as sexual discrimination by the WIAA. In fact, she was found in violation of the WIAA’s code of ethics for “misgendering” the other player, which led Staudt’s family to file a complaint with the Department of Education. The Department is investigating. Since then, she has been accused of bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
“As Christians, we love all people,” Noble noted. “This is not about whether we like someone or don’t like someone. There’s a reality that the physical strength of a biological male is more than the physical strength of a biological female. [It] is not rude or offensive to point out the scientific evidence that someone with an X and a Y chromosome is a boy or a man. That’s not offensive, that’s not hate speech.”
Such sentiments were expressed in the Washington House of Representatives where the reader can see a 4-minute sample of the debate:
The day before this incident with Staudt occurred, on February 5, President Trump signed the Executive Order mentioned above. “The radical Left has waged an all-out campaign to erase the very concept of biological sex and replace it with a militant transgender ideology,” Trump pointed out at the signing. “We’re putting every school receiving taxpayers’ dollars on notice that if you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding.” Please note: The controversy is not merely about what happens on the court or field. It also involves who enters the locker rooms and bathrooms.
Now we have a perfect storm brewing in the culture, a contrast of worldviews coming to a head, and we shall see how the drama unfolds. While we have no desire to see Washington’s public schools lose any federal funding, it may be what it takes to force our state’s leadership to finally protect female athletes. No female athlete should be put in the unfair position that Staudt experienced. She was made to choose between forfeiting an important game or risking her physical safety. Thankfully, Frances Staudt took a stand for biological and biblical truth, and we’re incredibly proud of her for doing so. Regardless of what the WIAA does or does not do, let’s hope others follow in her path.
Additional Resources
- Leanne Payne’s Crisis in Masculinity
- Ryan T. Anderson’s When Harry Became Sally
- Joe Dallas and Nancy Heche’s The Complete Christian Guide to Understanding Homosexuality
- Elizabeth R. Moberly’s Homosexuality: A New Christian Ethic. Note: Moberly says that transgenderism “marks the extreme end of the homosexual spectrum” and is a desire for “gender dislocation” because the same-sex love deficit is so pronounced.
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